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Barataria Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Barataria Bay: a Louisiana estuary behind Grand Isle where state law caps redfish at 4 a day between 18 and 27 inches.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 9:50 PM
Air / High
74 / 75 F
Wind
N 4 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8761724, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Barataria Bay sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 75. Tides: high 11:26 AM and 9:50 PM, low 5:11 AM and 3:02 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Tomorrow: Similar at 74 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Louisiana requires a fishing licence from age 18, from $17.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Louisiana licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with LDWF before you keep anything. The season dates for Louisiana, read off the agency, are on the Louisiana seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8761724 (Grand Isle). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW5:11 AM0.8 ft
HIGH11:26 AM1.0 ft
LOW3:02 PM0.9 ft
HIGH9:50 PM1.1 ft
Sat
LOW6:10 AM0.6 ft
HIGH9:41 PM1.3 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low75 / 68 F
WindN 4-9 mph
Pressure1019.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:06 / 18:21
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Barataria Bay this week

Today is the pick of the week on Barataria Bay, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:58 AM-4:58 AM
Sun
07:06 to 18:21
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 14 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Barataria Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

When to come: the Barataria Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Barataria Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 17 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Louisiana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Louisiana Basic Fishing License plus Saltwater Fishing License for anglers 18 and older. Red drum: 18-27 in., 4 a day, none over 27 in. (LDWF). For other species, see LDWF's saltwater seasons and limits page.

Access

Reached by boat; this guide does not list launches because none could be confirmed on an official page in this review.

About this water

An estuary bay in the Barataria basin behind Grand Isle, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes, Louisiana.

Fishing Barataria Bay: the full guide

An estuary in change

The Louisiana Trustees' final restoration plan for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion (February 2023) aims to reconnect the Mississippi River to the Barataria estuary. The Trustees expect the added fresh water to benefit fisheries species, red drum among them.

Red drum rules

LDWF allows 4 red drum per person per day, from 18 to 27 inches total length, with none over 27 inches, year-round in state waters. Anglers may hold a two-day bag on land but never more than one day's limit on the water, and captains and crews on for-hire trips may not keep red drum.

Tides

Tide times on this page come from NOAA station 8761724 at Grand Isle, on the bay's seaward edge.

Common questions

Can I keep a bull red?

No. Louisiana's red drum limit is 4 a day between 18 and 27 inches, with none over 27 inches.

Which licenses do I need?

Anglers 18 and older need a Basic Fishing License and a Saltwater Fishing License, according to LDWF.

Where do the tide times come from?

NOAA station 8761724 at Grand Isle.

Is fishing good at Barataria Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Grand Isle8 miLake Pontchartrain57 miBiloxi96 miAtchafalaya Basin114 miDauphin Island126 miVermilion Bay126 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8761724 β€” Grand Isle
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 8 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 29.3500, -89.9300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.